What started as a personal journey of a doctor turned patient morphed into a way to share what’s universal in dealing with cancer, in my case a nasty leukemia (CLL), a failed transplant and a successful clinical trial. The telling of my journey has become a journey to teach about CLL, related blood issues and all cancers. Please visit our new website http://cllsociety.org for the latest news and information. Smart patients get smart care™. If you want to reach me, email bkoffmanMD@gmail.com

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Why I am keen on PCI-32765

This very nice blog post deals with the business as much as the scientific aspects of the enthusiasm about Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) Inhibitors, specifically PCI-32765 in CLL and other B cell lymphomas.

It is a nice simple introduction to how the BTK inhibitors work and outlines the little but promising data presented at ASH 2011. The blog does not mention the 89% progression free survival in CLL.

I suspect we still don't have the whole story. In fact, I am sure we don't.

What do you think?

Am I and many others over excited about this little pill when the evidence is still pretty sparse?

Probably, but there doesn't seems to be much downside, and the other options of doing nothing or using an established therapy sure have their own very real problems.

And I can always move onto those options later if PCI-32765 doesn't work out. Moving in the other direction is not a likely option.

I am not going there. I have every reason to believe that I will be part of the vast group of dramatic responders, especially since my disease is so concentrated in my nodes and my 11q deletion has pretty much done everything by the book so far, which means my clone should melt away in this trial.

Can't wait to get started.

I see Dr. Kipps in three days to go over my bone marrow biopsy and get his final blessing on my plans.

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About Me

BkoffmanMD@gmail.com
A family doc and husband of 1 and father of 4 and grandfather of 3 who loves his family and his work. I live with no TV and no microwave, but wouldn't last a minute without friends, art, music, books and the beach. Hockey, good jokes and exotic travel are pretty important too. Writing, Talmud and Zen give meaning to my life. My diet is organic vegan, often raw. I hope the blog makes the load lighter and the path both safer and more fun for those who read it or are going to similar places. I want to help. I crave your comments. If you are new to the blog, check out the portrait my son Will painted (it is the first post), and my very first text post.